FINDING HOUSING IN STOCKHOLM - tips and useful

FINDING HOUSING IN STOCKHOLM
- tips and useful information
1.
FINDING HOUSING IN STOCKHOLM
Unfortunately, there is a shortage of accommodation
in Stockholm and the wait for housing is generally
long.
You will also find information about other ways to
find long term accommodation in the section about
”long term housing” (page 3-4).
Due to the lack of accommodation it is quite difficult
to find affordable housing in Stockholm, especially in
the beginning of the semesters when many students
and researchers are looking for housing. When you
are searching for a place to stay, it is important to
start well in advance. Remember that finding housing in Stockholm may be tedious and time consuming but almost everyone finds a place to stay after
a while.
Note that it is important that you plan for a
temporary arrangement, such as a hostel or hotel,
if you will arrive to Stockholm and have not found a
permanent place to stay. There are several ways to
find short term accommodation in Stockholm, see
the section “temporary housing” for further information (page 5).
On the following pages, you will find some valuable
advice for those who are searching for housing in
Stockholm.
If you are looking for a place to stay for a longer
period, we recommend you to first check the
information about KI Housing and verified housing
companies on page 2-3.
We hope that this guide will be helpful. Best
of luck with your search for housing!
CONTACT INFORMATION
Karolinska Institutet Housing
Visiting address: Berzelius väg 3, Solna
info@kihousing.se ● www.kihousing.se
2.
LONG TERM HOUSING
KI HOUSING
All incoming international students and researchers
who will start studying/working at KI are welcome to
apply for accommodation on the website of
Karolinska Institutet Housing.
We recommend you to apply as soon as possible
when you know your date of arrival to have a chance
of receiving a housing offer. Applying in good time is
unfortunately not a guarantee to be offered, but it
can ameliorate your chances.
KI Housing has a shortage of studios and apartments
where couples or families may stay. We advise couples and families to look for other accommodation
options as well, as we are unable to offer many of
those who apply.
Please keep the following things in mind when
applying for accommodation through KI Housing:
● KI Housing rooms and apartments are foremost
intended for international students/researchers
coming through established exchange agreements.
Other incoming students/researchers at KI are welcome to apply but will only be offered accommodation in case of availability.
● An application needs to be made no later than
three months after arrival in Sweden as KI Housing is
intended to be a first place to stay when a student/
researcher comes from abroad. When you have been
in Sweden for more than three months, you are ineligible to apply.
● The approved applications will be processed at the
earliest two months before your requested movingin date. Please note that KI Housing only contacts
applicants who are offered housing.
● The maximum rental time is one year. You are expected to look for other accommodation alternatives
while staying with KI Housing if you are going to stay
in Stockholm for a longer period than one year.
● KI Housing helps with accommodation for incoming international students and researchers for their
first time in Stockholm. We do not have the resources to help those who have already stayed here for a
while.
KI HOUSING CORPORATE AGREEMENTS
KI Housing has agreements with three mediators of
corporate apartments (sublet apartments): Bostad
Direkt, Newstay and Apartment HS.
If you are eligible to apply for accommodation
through KI Housing but cannot get housing in any of
the KI Housing areas, you are allowed to search for
accommodation through the apartment
mediators Bostad Direkt, Newstay and Apartment
HS. For further information about these agreements,
please see this link.
● When you apply, please mark as many accommodation alternatives as possible to increase your
chances of getting housing. As KI Housing has more
rooms than apartments it is easier to get a room
than an apartment. However, it is important that
you only apply for alternatives that you are willing to
accept as you will only receive one offer.
2.
2.
LONG TERM HOUSING
VERIFIED HOUSING COMPANIES
PUBLIC HOUSING QUEUE
If you are not eligible or not able to get accommodation through KI Housing, there are other verified
housing companies in Stockholm:
Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm is a marketplace
for available housing units in the city of Stockholm
and its suburbs. Click here to join their housing
queue (please note that you must have a Swedish ID
number to be on their waiting list).
● WENNER-GREN FOUNDATIONS
Wenner-Gren Foundations offer apartments to
foreign guest researchers working in laboratories in
Stockholm. Applications must be submitted either
before arriving in Sweden or within six months after
arrival. See this link for further information about
their housing queue.
● SSSB
Once you become a member of the Student Union,
you should sign up for student housing with SSSB if
you are planning to stay for more than a year. Their
waiting list is quite long so you cannot expect to get
housing during your first semester. Click here to view
their website.
● KISTA STUDENTBOSTÄDER
Kista Studentbostäder provides about 400 apartments for students and PostDocs in a suburb called
“Kista”, located northwest of central Stockholm. The
travel time from T-Centralen to Kista is about 20
minutes. Note that the waiting time for getting an
apartment through them is about two years. Click
here to join their housing queue.
● CAMPUS ROSLAGEN
Campus Roslagen provides rooms and apartments
for students and researchers in Norrtälje, north of
Stockholm. The travel time is about one hour from
Campus Roslagen to Tekniska Högskolan in Stockholm, where you can take the subway or buses. Click
here to find an apartment through them.
PRIVATE SUBLETS
Subletting an apartment is a common way to solve
the housing situation in Stockholm. However, before
you start to search for sublets on the private market,
we have listed some initial things to keep in mind:
Safety: Although the majority of the rental advertisements are legal we recommend you to be
cautious to avoid fraud. We advise you to visit
the accommodation and sign the contract before
paying any deposit or rent. We also recommend
you to ask the landlord for his/her personal id
when signing the contract to validate his/her information. At last but not least, you should only
pay the deposit to a Swedish bank account.
Location: Stockholm is not so big and the public
transportation works really well. It is very difficult to find housing close to the university and it
is not unusual to commute for about one hour to
go to work or school.
Rent: The average rent for a private room in a
shared apartment is about SEK 3000 up to SEK
9000 a month depending on size and location
(a room in the city center is usually much more
expensive than a room in the suburb). The rent
for a studio is about SEK 6000 to SEK 14000 per
month (also depending on size and location). Additional costs for electricity, internet or TV may
be added or be included in the rent so remember to ask the landlord about that.
3.
2.
LONG TERM HOUSING
>> PRIVATE SUBLETS
There are many ways to find available sublets in
Stockholm. Below we have listed some of the most
common sites.
● HOUSING ANYWHERE
Housing Anywhere is a platform where you can
search for a room in Stockholm. The rooms that are
offered on their website are from verified students
and landlords.
Click here to sign up for free.
● BOSTAD DIREKT
Bostad Direkt is a platform where you can search
for a room or an apartment in Stockholm offered by
private persons and landlords.
Click here to register for free.
● AKADEMISK KVART
Akademisk kvart is a platform hosted by SSCO (Stockholm Federation of Student Unions) where you can
find private sublets.
Click here to find housing on this platform for free.
● QASA
Qasa is a database where you can search for an
apartment in Stockholm offered by private landlords.
Their tool helps you to find the right home, sign a
rental agreement and you will only have to pay for
the rent that is stated in the listing.
Click here to create an account for free.
4.
3.
TEMPORARY HOUSING
VISITED BY KI HOUSING
There are hundreds of hotel apartments and providers of short term accommodation. KI Housing has
visited one or more of the apartments provided by
the following companies:
OTHER ALTERNATIVES FOR
SHORT STAYS
If you are searching for a hostel or hotel, you will
probably find an appropriate room on one of the
following websites providing online booking:
● BEAUTIFUL APARTMENTS
Hostelworld - Hostels in Stockholm
Furnished apartments of varying sizes for short and
long stays. Some apartments are located within walking distance from the KI Campus in Solna. Click here
to view their website.
Hotels.com - Hotels and hostels in Stockholm
● STAY AT
Booking.com - Hotels and hostels in Stockholm
Hotel Apartments in Bromma, Stockholm. Click here
to view their website.
● APARTMENTS BY LIGULA
Subletted private rooms and apartments in Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm. Click here to view their
website.
AirBnB - sublet rooms and apartments from
local hosts
Stockholm Budget - rooms and apartments in
Stockholm at affordable prices
5.
4.
FURTHER INFORMATION
SMALL SWEDISH HOUSING
DICTIONARY
LINKS TO WEBSITES GIVING USEFUL
INFORMATION
First hand contract – förstahandskontrakt
Below you will find a list with links to websites giving
useful information when searching for housing/living
in Stockholm:
Sublet contract – andrahandskontrakt
Housing queue – bostadskö
To let/sublet – uthyres (i andra hand)
1-bedroom apartment – 2 rum och kök (1 bedroom,
1 living room, kitchen and bathroom). In Sweden,
we count the number of rooms that the apartment
contains, except for the kitchen and bathroom.
Sweden.se – information about the housing
market in Sweden and your rights and obligations as a tenant etcetera.
Moving 2 Stockholm – Blog that provides information about how to recognize common scams/
scammer profiles in Stockholm
For information about public transport in Stockholm, please see the website of SL.
Visitstockholm.com - tourist information
Study in Sweden - information for prospective
international students about student accommodation in Sweden
6.
Karolinska Institutet Housing
SE - 171 65 Solna
Sweden
www.kihousing.se